Master of Electrical Engineering (MEE) Degree

Program Learning Outcomes for the MEE Degree

Upon completing the MEE degree, students will be able to:

  1. Apply the principles of mathematics and science necessary to solve advanced electrical engineering problems.
  2. Practice at an advanced level in at least one of the major sub-fields of electrical engineering.

Requirements for the MEE Degree

The MEE degree is a non-thesis master's degree. For general university requirements, please see Non-Thesis Master's Degrees. Students pursuing the MEE degree must complete:

  • A minimum of 10 courses (30 credit hours) at the 500-level or higher to satisfy degree requirements.
  • A minimum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) from an Area of Specialization (as a major area of focus).
  • A minimum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from another Area of Specialization (as a minor area).
  • A minimum of 8 of the 10 courses in the major and minor Areas of Specialization taught by ECE faculty. Only exceptions approved by the Chair of the MEE Committee will be permitted.
  • A minimum overall GPA of 3.0 in required coursework with a minimum grade of C (2.0 grade points) in each course.
  • A maximum of 1 course (3 credit hours) of graduate-level coursework from transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab. 
  • ELEC 698 each semester of full-time enrollment. 

Students are admitted to the MEE degree program in the fall semester. MEE students are to consult with an academic advisor on the MEE Committee each semester in order to identify and clearly document their individual curricular requirements or degree plan to be followed. An MEE degree planning form and current requirements may be found on the ECE website.

Summary

Total Credit Hours Required for the MEE Degree30

Degree Requirements

Select 1 Area of Specialization from the following (see below for Areas of Specialization): 118
Computer Engineering
Data Science
Neuroengineering
Photonics, Electronics, and Nano-Devices
Systems
Select 2 courses from another Area of Specialization as a minor area 16
Free Electives 26
ELEC 698ECE PROFESSIONAL MASTERS SEMINAR SERIES (required each semester of full-time enrollment, credit hours earned do not apply towards degree requirements)1
Total Credit Hours30

 Footnotes and Additional Information

Areas of Specialization

Students must complete a minimum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) from one area of specialization and a minimum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from another area of specialization as a minor area. The following courses represent typical courses under the current 5 areas of specialization that students may study as part of the MEE degree program. Students may take and are encouraged to take, with the approval of an academic advisor, other courses that are not listed below that are consistent with their career objectives. ELEC 590 may not be applied toward the requirements for the areas of specialization.

Area of Specialization: Computer Engineering 

Select 6 from the following:18
ELEC 513 / COMP 513
COMPLEXITY IN MODERN SYSTEMS
ELEC 516
ANALOG INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
ELEC 522
ADVANCED VLSI DESIGN
ELEC 524 / COMP 524
MOBILE AND WIRELESS NETWORKING
ELEC 526 / COMP 526
HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
ELEC 527
VLSI SYSTEMS DESIGN
ELEC 553
MOBILE AND EMBEDDED SYSTEM DESIGN AND APPLICATION
ELEC 554 / COMP 554
COMPUTER SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE
Total Credit Hours18

Area of Specialization: Data Science 

Select 6 from the following:18
ELEC 502 / COMP 502 / STAT 502
NEURAL MACHINE LEARNING I
or COMP 540
 STATISTICAL MACHINE LEARNING
ELEC 531
STATISTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
ELEC 533 / CAAM 583 / STAT 583
INTRODUCTION TO RANDOM PROCESSES AND APPLICATIONS
ELEC 535
INFORMATION THEORY
ELEC 557 / COMP 557
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ELEC 558
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
ELEC 575
LEARNING FROM SENSOR DATA
ELEC 576
A PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION TO DEEP MACHINE LEARNING
ELEC 631
ADVANCED TOPICS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING
STAT 648
GRAPHICAL MODELS AND NETWORKS
Total Credit Hours18

Area of Specialization: Neuroengineering 

Select 6 from the following:18
ELEC 502 / COMP 502 / STAT 502
NEURAL MACHINE LEARNING I
ELEC 533 / CAAM 583 / STAT 583
INTRODUCTION TO RANDOM PROCESSES AND APPLICATIONS
ELEC 548 / BIOE 548
MACHINE LEARNING AND SIGNAL PROCESSING FOR NEURO ENGINEERING
ELEC 585 / BIOE 591
FUNDAMENTALS OF MEDICAL IMAGING I
ELEC 588
THEORETICAL NEUROSCIENCE I: BIOPHYSICAL MODELING OF CELLS AND CIRCUITS
ELEC 589
NEURAL COMPUTATION
ELEC 680 / BIOE 680
NANO-NEUROTECHNOLOGY
NEUR 582
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTATIONAL NEURSCIENCE
Total Credit Hours18

Area of Specialization: Photonics, Electronics, and Nano-Devices

Select 6 from the following:18
ELEC 562
OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES
ELEC 568
LASER SPECTROSCOPY
ELEC 569 / PHYS 569
ULTRAFAST OPTICAL PHENOMENA
ELEC 571
IMAGING AT THE NANOSCALE
ELEC 603
TOPICS IN NANOPHOTONICS
ELEC 605 / PHYS 605
COMPUTATIONAL ELECTRODYNAMICS AND NANOPHOTONICS
ELEC 661 / CHEM 661 / MSNE 661
NANOPHOTONICS, SPECTROSCOPY, AND MATERIALS FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Total Credit Hours18

Area of Specialization: Systems 

Select 6 from the following:18
ELEC 531
STATISTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
ELEC 533 / CAAM 583 / STAT 583
INTRODUCTION TO RANDOM PROCESSES AND APPLICATIONS
ELEC 535
INFORMATION THEORY
ELEC 537
COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
ELEC 539
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
ELEC 542
THE APPLICATION OF VECTOR SPACE METHODS AND OTHER ADVANCED TECHNIQUES TO DSP
ELEC 546
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER VISION
ELEC 547
COMPUTER VISION
ELEC 549
COMPUTATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
ELEC 551
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
ELEC 558
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
Total Credit Hours18

Policies for the MEE Degree

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Program Handbook

The General Announcements (GA) is the official Rice curriculum. As an additional resource for students, the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering publishes a graduate program handbook, which can be found here: 
http://gradhandbooks.rice.edu/2017_18/Electrical_Computer_Engineering_Graduate_Handbook.pdf.

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.

Departmental Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the MEE degree in the field of Electrical and Computer Engineering should be aware of the following departmental transfer credit guidelines:

  • No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the degree.
  • Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.

For additional information, please see the Electrical and Computer Engineering website: https://www.ece.rice.edu/.

Opportunities for the MEE Degree 

For additional information, please see the Electrical and Computer Engineering website: https://www.ece.rice.edu/.